The present invention relates to planter systems for plants and, more particularly, to modular planter systems.
In many homes and offices, plants may be found displayed in groupings and supported by a variety of devices suited for this purpose, such as poles, plant hangers, plant stands, etc. Since it is desirable for a number of aesthetic and functional reasons to be able to rearrange, replace and otherwise alter displays of plants, it is easily seen that plant fixtures capable of providing a variety of spatial arrangements are particularly useful. As a result, there are several advantages afforded by a modular planter system in which each plant is individually retained within interconnectable modules. With a modular planter system it is possible for an individual to start with only a few or even one module and add to the system as desired. A modular system also allows considerable flexibility in arrangements so as to take advantage of available lighting and space requirements.
There have been many types of modular plant display devices reported in the literature. The following is a list of references which disclose examples of such devices:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 3,018,898 Frazelle 3,194,403 Van Horn 3,611,633 Shackelford 3,747,268 Linder 3,991,686 Mechachonis 3,935,671 Soot 4,083,457 Dromboski 4,151,680 Sena 4,161,085 Moffett 4,262,467 Faisant et al. ______________________________________
The Frazelle reference discloses a portable bracket pole which may be rigidly positioned to support a plurality of interchangeable bracket units. This device, however, inherently limits the spatial arrangements possible because each plant must be separately attached to a common vertical pole. Further, the Frazelle device does not provide for the individual movement of brackets relative to each other. Thus, in order to face certain plants toward or away from a light source, or to rearrange the spatial arrangement for any other functional or aesthetic purpose, it would be necessary to remove the brackets corresponding to the plants for which rearrangement is desired from their mounting holes and then reinsert the brackets in the desired holes. Another disadvantage of this device is that the number of plant pots and arrangements is limited by the fixed number of mounting holes.
The Linder reference discloses a sectional semi-circular planter which permits the planters to be mounted at any selected vertical elevation on a vertical post. The number of spatial arrangements is still severely limited since the plant pots must be vertically arranged on a common axis.
The Faisant et al. reference discloses a modular element suitable for flower boxes in which each module may be assembled with other similar elements either by juxtaposition in a single plane or in offset planes, or by superposition with angular displacement. While the number of modules is unlimited, spatial arrangements are restricted to assemblies forming a network of lines forming an angle of 60.degree. with each other. Further, the modules cannot be individually rotated.
The Sena reference discloses a modular horticultural structure and container system which permits a variety of of horizontal and vertical displays and arrangements. Spatial arrangements are still restricted by the interlocking design and individual rotation of interconnected modules is not possible.
The Van Horn and Mechachonis references disclose display or support stands which allow for the rotation of articles supported by the stands. One embodiment disclosed in the Van Horn reference does apparently allow a tray to be rotated on a first vertical axis and also rotated about a second vertical axis, but is otherwise different from the present invention. The Mechachonis patent discloses a multi-level plant display stand in which pairs of plants are supported by brackets which are individually rotatable on a common vertical support post. The support post is assembled from a number of tubular socket parts which are joined end to end. However, the socket parts are not directly attached to any plant housing elements, and spatial arrangements are therefore severely restricted. Further, rotation is possible about only one vertical axis.
The remaining references disclose various devices for forming plant or flower arrangements.
While each of the patents referred to above discloses a device claiming to have certain benefits with regard to the display or support of plants, none of these devices affords the advantages accomplished in the present invention.